Touch panel and image display device having the same

ABSTRACT

A touch panel may include: a sensing electrode part including a plurality of first sensing electrodes and a plurality of second sensing electrodes insulated from the first sensing electrodes and crossing the first sensing electrodes; an opening part in the sensing electrode part; and a dummy pattern adjacent to the sensing electrode part.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/697,748 filed Apr. 28, 2015, which claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No.10-2014-0055632 filed on May 9, 2014 and Korean Patent Application No.10-2014-0057823 filed on May 14, 2014, whose entire disclosures arehereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The embodiment relates to a touch panel.

Background

A touch panel is a device capable of sensing information input by atouch scheme. A touch panel for sensing a touch input on an imagedisplay area by using a human hand or an object has been widely used inan electronic appliance such as personal digital assistants (PDA), alaptop computer, an office automation (OA) device, a medical device, oran automobile navigation system.

As a typical scheme of a touch panel for sensing a touch input from anoutside, there have been known a capacitive scheme, a resistive scheme,an electromagnetic induction scheme, an optical scheme, etc., andrecently, the capacitive scheme has been widely used.

Since the touch panel must be able to sense information input in a touchscheme as an electrical signal, the touch panel generally includes asensing electrode for sensing touch stimulation and a circuit forreceiving the variation of a signal generated from the sensingelectrode. The sensing electrode has a structure in which sensingelectrodes are disposed in both directions (for example, longitudinaland traversal directions) in order to sense the coordinates of touchstimulation applied thereto.

Due to the structural limitation of a sensing electrode for sensing avariation in electrostatic capacity, which is generated when a touchsignal is applied, the visibility of the touch panel is deteriorated.Due to the difference in hue and light transmittance generated bydiscontinuity or irregularity of the sensing electrode formed on thetouch panel, the sensing electrode is visually recognized or glitters,so that the visibility of the touch panel is increased.

To solve the above described problems, although a scheme of additionallyforming a dummy pattern in a region between the sensing electrodes (thatis, a region in which any sensing electrodes are not formed) may beconsidered, there is a limit to remove a phenomenon of increasingvisibility due to the structure of the sensing electrode itself. Therehas been increased a need to provide a touch panel formed to have ashape capable of reducing the visibility.

Meanwhile, a part of a sensing electrode may be damaged due to an erroroccurring during various kinds of processes to be performed to form thesensing electrode on a substrate, so that the touch sensibility may bedeteriorated at the damaged point. There has been increased a request ofa technique capable of preventing the touch sensing performance frombeing deteriorated due to an error in a process of manufacturing a touchpanel and a damage in real life.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a touch panel including animproved sensing electrode according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows plan views showing in detail the sensing electrode depictedin FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows views showing various structures of the sub-electrode ofthe touch panel according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating the fact that, when several of theelectrical connecting passages included in the sub-electrode depicted inFIG. 3 are damaged, the sub-electrode may be electrically connected tothe main electrode through the remaining electrical connecting passages.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a structure of insulatingthe second sensing electrode of the touch panel depicted FIG. 1 from thefirst sensing electrode.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line A-A′ of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing a touch panel including animproved sensing electrode according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a touch panel according to the secondembodiment.

FIG. 9 shows plan views illustrating in more detail the arrangement ofthe sensing electrode part and dummy pattern depicted in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 shows views of various shapes of the first opening part 700 ofthe touch panel according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a view showing an electrical connection of the sensingelectrode through the first opening part of the touch panel according tothe second embodiment.

FIG. 12 shows views illustrating the comparison of the dummy pattern andthe first opening part in the touch panel according to the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a touch panel according to another embodiment.

FIGS. 14 to 16 are views showing image display devices to which a touchpanel according to the embodiment may be installed.

FIG. 17 is a view showing an exemplary configuration of an image displaydevice according to the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A touch panel according to the embodiment may include a view area V/Afor displaying an image and a dead area D/A disposed at a periphery ofthe view area V/A to surround the view area V/A. A printing layer, whichblocks light to allow a wire not to be viewed, may be formed on the deadarea. For example, the printing layer may have a color such as black,white or blue. The color of the printing layer is not limited to theabove, but the printing layer may have various colors if it can allowthe wire not to be viewed.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a touch panel including animproved sensing electrode according to the first embodiment. FIGS. 2aand 2b are plan views showing in detail the sensing electrode depictedin FIG. 1 and divided into first and second sensing electrodes 100 and200.

The first sensing electrode 100 may include a plurality of first sensingelectrodes. Referring to FIG. 2a , each of the first sensing electrodes100 may include a main electrode 110 disposed in the first direction(for example, a longitudinal direction). Each of the first sensingelectrodes 100 may extend from an edge of the main electrode 110 in thesecond direction (for example, a traversal direction) and may include aplurality of sub-electrodes 120 in each of which at least one openingpart 124 is formed. The sub-electrodes 120 are formed to be spaced apartfrom each other by a constant interval H for every main electrode 110.In this case, the opening parts 124 may vertically pass through the subelectrodes 120, respectively. Thus, each of the sub-electrodes 120 isprovided with a plurality of electrical connecting passages formed alongan edge of the opening part 124.

A dummy pattern 130 may be disposed to be adjacent to the sensingelectrode part. According to the first embodiment, at least one dummypattern 130 may be disposed in each opening part 124. The dummy pattern130 may be formed to have an area less than that of the opening part 124and to be inwardly spaced apart from the edge of the opening part 124 bya predetermined interval. Thus, the sub-electrode 120 and the dummypattern 130 may be insulated from each other.

Although one opening part 124 which is formed per one sub-electrode 120and only one dummy pattern 130 which is disposed inside each of theopening parts 124 are depicted in FIG. 2a , the embodiment is notlimited thereto. In addition, the numbers and shapes of the openingparts 124 and the dummy patterns 130 may be various and will beadditionally described below with reference to FIG. 3.

As the dummy pattern 130 is disposed in the sub-electrode 120, it may beconfirmed through FIG. 2a that the sub-electrode 120 is provided withthe plurality of electric connecting passages which allow thesub-electrode 120 to be electrically connected to the main electrode110. Hereinafter, this will be described in more detail with referenceto FIG. 4.

The second sensing electrode 200 may include a plurality of secondsensing electrodes 200 and may be spaced apart from the first sensingelectrode 100 without any overlapped areas, so that the second sensingelectrode 200 is electrically insulated from the first sensing electrode100. Referring to FIG. 2b , each of the second sensing electrodes 200includes a plurality of unit electrodes 210 disposed in the seconddirection (for example, a traversal direction). In this case, the unitelectrodes 210 are disposed between mutually adjacent sub-electrodes,respectively, (that is, areas where the constant interval H is formed inFIG. 2a ) and are spaced apart from each other by a constant interval Win an area crossing the first sensing electrodes 100 in the seconddirection.

The first and second sensing electrodes 100 and 200 may be formed byusing at least one of various schemes such as an etching scheme, asputtering scheme, a screen printing scheme, or a photolithographyscheme.

The first and second sensing electrodes 100 and 200 may include at leastone of indium tin oxide (ITO), carbon nanotube (CNT), indium zinc oxide(IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), graphene, conductive polymer, silver (Ag)nanowire and copper oxide.

In addition, at least one of the first and second sensing electrodes 100and 200 may include various metals. For example, the sensing electrodemay include at least one of Cr, Ni, Cu, Al, Ag, Mo, Au, Ti and the alloythereof.

The sensing electrode including at least one metal may be formed in amesh shape. In detail, the sensing electrode may include a plurality ofsub-patterns which are arranged in a mesh shape while crossing eachother. Since the sensing electrode has the mesh shape, the pattern ofthe sensing electrode may not be viewed on an active area, for example,a display area. That is, even though the sensing electrode is formed ofmetal, the pattern may not be viewed. Even when the sensing electrode isa large size of a touch window, the resistance of the touch window maybe reduced.

In addition, the first and second sensing electrodes 100 and 200 may beformed on an upper portion of a transparent substrate 10 formed of atleast one of glass, plastic and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Inthis case, the first and second sensing electrodes 100 and 200 may beformed on the same one surface of a single transparent substrate 100.Since the first and second sensing electrodes 100 and 200 are formed onthe single transparent substrate 100 together, the thickness of thetouch panel may be reduced.

Meanwhile, although the first and second sensing electrodes 100 and 200are depicted in FIGS. 2a and 2b , respectively, this is for the purposeof convenient description and it may be easily understood by thoseordinary skilled in the art that the first and second sensing electrodes100 and 200 are collectively formed through the same process.

In addition, the first and second directions may be variously set tocalculate the coordinates of a position to which touch stimulation isapplied. Preferably, the first and second directions may beperpendicular to each other.

FIGS. 3a to 3e are views showing various structures of the sub-electrode120 of the touch panel according to the first embodiment.

First, referring to FIG. 3a , a fine conductive wire 132 having a meshshape may be formed in the opening part 124 formed in the sub-electrode120 according to the embodiment. In detail, the opening part 124 may bevertically formed through the sub-electrode 120 except for apredetermined area of an edge of the sub-electrode 120, and the fineconductive wires 132 may cross each other in the opening part 124 in amesh shape. In this case, the fine conductive wires 132 may be formed ofthe same material through the same process as the first and secondsensing electrodes 100 and 200. The fine conductive wires 132 areelectrically connected to the sub-electrode 120, respectively. Thus,even when several of the fine conductive wires 132 are cut off, theelectrical connection between the sub-electrode 120 and the mainelectrode 110 may be maintained through the other fine conductive wires132.

In addition, referring to FIGS. 3b to 3e , the opening part 124 of thesub-electrode 120 and the dummy pattern 130 disposed in the opening part124 may have various shapes such as a square shape, a circular shape, arectangular shape or a triangular shape.

In addition, when the plurality of dummy patterns 130 is disposed in onesub-electrode 120, the dummy patterns 130 may be formed to have the sameshape and size. In addition, the dummy patterns 130 may be arranged in amatrix shape. Thus, when outer force is applied to the dummy patterns130, the shock may be uniformly distributed and in addition, the dummypatterns 130 are allowed not to be easily viewed with naked eye from anoutside.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating the electrical connection of thesub-electrode 120 through another electrical connecting passage whenseveral electrical connecting passages included in the sub-electrode 120depicted in FIG. 3b are damaged. In detail, referring to FIG. 4a , thesub-electrode 120 may include a first sub-electrode 121 formed at oneside (for example, an upper portion) of the opening part 124 in thesecond direction, a second sub-electrode 122 formed at an opposite sideof the opening part in the second direction, and a third sub-electrode123 formed in the first direction to connect the first and secondsub-electrodes 121 and 122 to each other. In this case, the thirdsub-electrode 123 may be a portion of the sub-electrode 120 except forthe first and second sub-electrodes 121 and 122. Thus, the dummy pattern130 is surrounded by the first to third sub-electrodes 121 to 123.

Referring to FIG. 4b , it may be confirmed that a part of the upper andright side edges is cut off. The disconnecting phenomenon of thesub-electrode 120 may occur due to the outer force applied during amanufacturing process or a daily life, or an error of the manufacturingprocess.

For example, when the sub-electrode 120 has a bar shape so that thedummy pattern 130 is not disposed therein, only one electricalconnecting passage may be formed between the sub-electrode 120 and themain electrode 110. In this case, if the sub-electrode 120 is cut off inthe second direction, the touch stimulation applied into thecorresponding area is not properly sensed.

To the contrary, since the sub-electrode 120 of the touch panelaccording to the first embodiment includes the first to thirdsub-electrodes 121 to 123 for providing the plurality of electricalconnecting passages, even though several of the first to thirdsub-electrodes 121 to 123 are cut off, the sub-electrode 120 iselectrically connected to the main electrode 110 through the remainingelectrical connecting passages (see the dotted line arrow), so that thetouch sensing performance may be maintained.

For example, referring to FIG. 4b , it may be confirmed that a part ofthe first sub-electrode 121 is cut off and a part of the thirdsub-electrode 123 b disposed at a right side is cut off.

In this case, it may be confirmed that the second sub-electrode 122 iselectrically connected to the first sub-electrode 121 through the thirdsub-electrode 123 a disposed at the center.

Meanwhile, although FIG. 4 has been explained while focusing on thesub-electrode 120 depicted in FIG. 3b , the embodiment is not limitedthereto. The embodiment may be applied to dummy patterns 130 havingvarious shapes as well as the shapes depicted in FIGS. 3a and 3c to 3 e.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a structure of insulatingthe second sensing electrode 200 of the touch panel depicted FIG. 1 fromthe first sensing electrode 100. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken alongline A-A′ of FIG. 5. In detail, since a plurality of unit electrodes 210included in each of the second sensing electrodes 200 depicted in FIG. 1are spaced apart from each other in the second direction so that theunit electrodes 210 are electrically disconnected to each other, FIGS. 5and 6 show a structure of electrically connecting the unit electrodes210 included in each of the first sensing electrodes 100 to each otherin the second direction.

First, referring to FIG. 5, the touch panel according to the embodimentmay further include an insulating part 300, and each second sensingelectrode 200 may further include a bridge part 220.

The insulating part 300 may be formed in an intersection area betweenthe first and second sensing electrodes 100 and 200. In detail, theintersection area between the first and second sensing electrodes 100and 200 is a part of the main electrode 110 interposed between a pair ofunit electrodes 210 adjacent to each other in the second direction. Inthis case, as shown in FIG. 6, the insulating part 300 may be formed tocoat the entire part (that is, upper and side surfaces) of the mainelectrode 110 placed in the intersection area between the first andsecond sensing electrodes 100 and 200.

The bridge part 220 is formed on an upper portion of the insulating part300 and parts of both ends of the bridge part 220 are connected to theunit electrodes 210, respectively, such that the second sensingelectrode 200 is insulated from the first sensing electrode 100. Thebridge part 220 allows the pair of unit electrodes 210 adjacent to eachother in the second direction to be electrically connected to eachother.

Meanwhile, similarly to the first and second sensing electrodes 100 and200, the bridge part 220 may include at least one of indium tin oxide(ITO), carbon nanotube (CNT), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO),graphene, conductive polymer, silver (Ag) nanowire and copper oxide.

In addition, the bridge part 220 may include various metals. Forexample, the bridge part 220 may include at least one of Cr, Ni, Cu, Al,Ag, Mo, Au, Ti and the alloy thereof.

In addition, since the insulating part 300 and the bridge part 220 areformed in an area in which adjacent unit electrodes 210 are spaced apartfrom each other in the second direction, when the number of unitelectrodes 210 included in one second sensing electrode 200 is equal toN, each number of the insulating parts 300 and the bridge parts 220required to electrically connect the second sensing electrodes 200 toeach other may be equal to (N−1).

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing a touch panel including animproved sensing electrode according to another embodiment. The sensingelectrode depicted in FIG. 7 is to illustrate that the shape of thesensing electrode described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5 may bemodified. That is, although the sub-electrodes 120 extending in thesecond direction (for example, the traversal direction) from only ‘oneside edge (right or left edge)’ of the main electrode 110 have beendepicted in FIGS. 1 and 5, the embodiment is not limited thereto and maybe variously modified. FIG. 7 is for illustrating one example only. Indetail, referring to FIG. 7, it may be confirmed that the sensingelectrode of FIG. 7 is different from those of FIGS. 1 and 5 because thesub-electrode 120 extends in the second direction from ‘both side edges’of the main electrode 110.

Hereinafter, a touch panel according to the second embodiment will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 8 to 13. In this case, the features,structures and effect proposed in the first embodiment may beincorporated or modified in the second embodiment by those ordinaryskilled in the art.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a touch panel according to the secondembodiment. FIGS. 9a to 9c are plan views illustrating in detail thearrangement of the sensing electrode part and dummy pattern depicted inFIG. 8.

First, referring to FIG. 8, the touch panel according to the secondembodiment may include a substrate, a sensing electrode part, a dummypattern 200 and a first opening part 300.

The sensing electrode part may include first and second sensingelectrodes 510 and 520.

The substrate may include at least one of various materials, such aspolyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polyether sulfone(PES), polyimide (PI), polymethly methacrylate (PMMA), glass, etc.,which may be coated with a material used for forming the sensingelectrode part.

The sensing electrode part is formed in a touch active area on thesubstrate and configured to sense a touch signal by a person or anobject. In the embodiment, the touch active region signifies an areathrough which an instruction may be input by using a touch signal. Inaddition, a touch inactive area, which has the concept opposite to thatof the touch active area, is not activated even if a user touches thedead area, so the touch inactive area signifies an area through whichany touch instructions cannot be input.

In this case, the touch active area may be equal to the view area V/Adescribed above, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. It should beunderstood that the touch active area signifies an area which includes apart or all of the dead area D/A as well as a part or all of the viewarea V/A.

Such a sensing electrode part may be formed of conductive polymer. Indetail, the sensing electrode part may be formed of polyaniline,polyacetylene or polyphenylene vinylene. In addition, a material, suchas indium-tin oxide (ITO), an organic transparent electrode materialincluding a carbon nanotube, graphene, zinc oxide (ZnO) and tin oxide(SnO2), etc., may be used to form the sensing electrode part. Further,it is obvious to those ordinary skilled in the art that transparentelectrodes of various materials may be selectively used for the sensingelectrode.

Meanwhile, the dummy pattern 600 may be adjacent to the sensingelectrode part. According to the second embodiment, the dummy pattern600 may be disposed outside the sensing electrode part.

In detail, an area, in which the sensing electrode part is not formed inthe view area V/A, may be interposed between the adjacent sensingelectrode parts. In more detail, the view area V/A may be greatlydivided into a sensing electrode formed area and a sensing electrodeunformed area, where the sensing electrode unformed area (hereinafter,referred to as a dummy area) has a light transmittance and refractiveindex different from those of the sensing electrode formed area, so thatthe visibility of the touch panel may be deteriorated. To compensate thedifferences of the transmittance and refractive index according towhether the sensing electrode part exists or not, the touch panelaccording to the second embodiment may include a dummy pattern 600formed in the dummy area.

The dummy pattern 600 may be formed of a non-conductive material havinga light transmittance and refractive index similar to those of thesensing electrode part, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. Thedummy pattern 600 may be formed of the same material as the sensingelectrode part. When the dummy pattern 600 is formed of the samematerial as the sensing electrode part, as shown in FIG. 8, the sensingelectrode part and the dummy pattern 600 may be spaced apart from eachother by a predetermined interval in order to prevent the dummy pattern600 from making electrical contact with the sensing electrode part.

The first opening part 700 is disposed inside the sensing electrode partto improve the visibility of the touch panel. In detail, the firstopening part 700 may have a shape of surrounding an area of the sensingelectrode part and may include at least one opening part to electricallyconnect the surrounded area to the remaining area.

The sensing electrode part, the dummy pattern 600 and the first openingpart 700 may be formed on a substrate. The embodiment does notspecifically limit the substrate if the substrate has a predeterminedstrength. For example, the substrate may be formed of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polymethly methacrylate (PMMA),polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyether sulfone (PES), cyclic olefinpolymer (COC), a triacetylcellulose (TAC) film, a polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) film, a polyimide (PI) film, polystyrene (PS), glass, temperedglass, etc.

The sensing electrode part of the touch panel according to theembodiment may include first and second sensing electrodes 510 and 520.Referring to FIGS. 9a to 9c , it may be confirmed that the first andsecond sensing electrodes 510 and 520 and the dummy pattern 600 of thetouch panel depicted in FIG. 8 are shown in detail while being separatedfrom each other. The first and second sensing electrodes 510 and 520 maybe formed through various schemes such as an etching scheme, aphotolithography scheme, a sputtering scheme, a screen printing scheme,etc.

The dummy patterns 600 may be formed in each dummy area surrounded bythe first and second sensing electrodes 510 and 520. Referring to FIGS.1 and 2 a, six dummy patterns 600 having a rectangular shape are alignedin a matrix of 2×3 in each dummy area, but this is for the purpose ofconvenient explanation and the shape, size and number of the dummypatterns 600 are not limited thereto.

Referring to FIGS. 9b and 9c , the first sensing electrode 510 may beformed in the first direction (for example, a longitudinal direction)and the second sensing electrode 520 may be formed in the seconddirection (for example, a traversal direction). In detail, the firstsensing electrodes 510 may be formed in the first direction while beinginterconnected to each other through the first connecting part 511. Thesecond sensing electrodes 520 may be formed in the second directionwhile being interconnected to each other through the second connectingpart 521. The first and second sensing electrodes 510 and 520 mayperform the functions of driving and sensing electrodes Tx and Rx. Forexample, if the first sensing electrode 510 performs the function of thedriving electrode Tx, the second electrode 520 performs the function ofthe sensing electrode Rx. To the contrary, if the first sensingelectrode 510 performs the function of the sensing electrode Rx, thesecond electrode 520 performs the function of the driving electrode Tx.

In this case, an insulating part may be formed at an intersection areabetween the first and second sensing electrodes 510 and 520, that is, atan intersection area between the first and second connecting parts 511and 521 to insulate the first and second sensing electrodes 510 and 520from each other.

The first opening part 700 may be disposed inside one of the first andsecond sensing electrodes 510 and 520. The first opening part 700disposed only inside the first sensing electrode 510 is depicted inFIGS. 8 and 9 a, but to the contrary, the opening part 700 may bedisposed only inside the second sensing electrode 520.

Thus, the dummy patterns 600 formed in the dummy area are disposed toalternate with the first or second sensing electrode 510 or 520, so thatthe visibility of the touch panel is primarily improved due to theregularity. Further, the regularity according to the shape of thesensing electrode part and the dummy pattern 600 is compensated for bythe first opening part 700 disposed inside one of the first and secondsensing electrodes 510 and 520, so that the visibility of the touchpanel may be secondarily improved.

In this case, an area of the sensing electrode surrounded by the firstopening part 700 may be formed corresponding to the shape and size ofthe dummy pattern 600. Hereinafter, it will be described in more detailwith reference to FIGS. 10 to 12.

FIGS. 10a to 10d are views showing various shapes of the first openingpart 700 of the touch panel according to the embodiment.

First, referring to FIG. 10a , the first opening part 700 may be formedin a continuous shape except for only one opening part A. The area ofthe sensing electrode surrounded by the first opening part 700 iselectrically connected to an outer area thereof through the opening partA.

Meanwhile, differently from the first opening part 700 depicted in FIG.10a , the first opening parts 700 depicted in FIGS. 10b to 10d mayinclude a plurality of sub-patterns.

Referring to FIG. 10b , the first opening part 700 may include twosub-patterns 710. It may be confirmed that the two sub-patterns 710 arespaced apart from each other at left and right sides, so that twoopening parts B are formed. The area of the sensing electrode surroundedby the first opening part 700 is electrically connected to an outer areathereof through the opening parts B.

Then, referring to FIG. 10c , the first opening part 700 may includefour sub-patterns 720. It may be confirmed that the four sub-patterns720 are spaced apart from each other at upper, lower, left and rightsides, so that four opening parts C are formed. The area of the sensingelectrode surrounded by the first opening part 700 is electricallyconnected to an outer area thereof through the opening parts C.

In addition, referring to FIG. 10d , the first opening part 700including four sub-patterns 730 is similar to that of FIG. 10c , but thefirst opening part 700 is different from that of FIG. 10c in that thesub-patterns are spaced apart from each other at each vertex area of thefour sub-patterns 730 having the rectangular shape. The foursub-patterns 730 are spaced apart from each other at each vertex area,so that four opening parts D are formed and the area of the sensingelectrode surrounded by the first opening part 700 is electricallyconnected to an outer area thereof through the opening parts D.

Meanwhile, the shape of the first opening part 700 describe above is notlimited to the shapes depicted in FIGS. 10a to 10d . It may beunderstood by those ordinary skilled in the art that, as well as thenumber and position of the sub-patterns, the positions and number ofopen areas formed by the sub-patterns may be variously modified.

The first opening part 700 may be disposed inside the sensing electrodepart and may open at least a part of the sensing electrode to expose thesubstrate. In detail, an area for forming the first opening part 700 isemptied in advance through a sputtering or screen printing scheme whenthe sensing electrode part is formed, or a part of the sensing electrodeis remove through an etching or photolithography scheme after formingthe sensing electrode, so that the first opening part may be formed.

FIG. 11 is a view showing an electrical connection of the sensingelectrode through the first opening part 700 of the touch panelaccording to the embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 11, the first opening part 700 disposed inside thefirst sensing electrode 510 of the touch panel according to the secondembodiment may be confirmed. Although four opening parts 700 aligned ina matrix of 2×2 inside each sensing electrode 510 are depicted in FIGS.8, 9 and 11, this is for the purpose of convenient explanation and thenumber and disposition form of the first opening part 700 disposedinside each of the first sensing electrodes 510 may be various. Inaddition, the first opening part 700 may be formed in not the firstsensing electrode 510 but the second sensing electrode 520.

In detail, the first opening part 700 according to the second embodimenthas a start point and an end point which are spaced apart from eachother, so that the area of the sensing electrode surrounded by the firstopening part 700 may not be insulated from but electrically connected tothe outer area thereof. Thus, the electric signal applied from a circuitof the touch panel may be transmitted to all areas of each sensingelectrode part except for the first opening part 700 as arrows depictedin FIG. 11.

FIGS. 12a and 12b are views illustrating the comparison of the dummypattern 600 and the first opening part 700 in the touch panel accordingto the embodiment.

First, referring to FIG. 12a , the dummy pattern 600 having arectangular shape is depicted at the left side of FIG. 12a and the firstopening part 700 which opens upper, lower, left and right portions ofthe sensing electrode part while surrounding an area of the sensingelectrode part is depicted at the right side of FIG. 12a . Each dummypattern 600 may have a square shape having a width P1 equal to a heightH2, but the embodiment is not limited thereto.

Since it is preferable that the shape and size of the first opening part700 correspond to the dummy pattern 600 in order to improve thevisibility of the touch panel, the first opening part 700 may be formedsuch that the area (P2×H2) of each area surrounded by the first openingpart 700 is 0.9 to 1.1 times of an area (P1×H1) of each dummy pattern600. In addition, the ratio of the width P2 and height H2 of the firstopening part 700 to the width P1 and height H1 of the dummy pattern 600may be equal to ‘0.9˜1.1’:1.

Next, referring to FIG. 12b , the dummy pattern 600 of a circular shapehaving a first radius R1 is depicted at the left side of FIG. 12b , andthe first opening part 700 provided at upper and lower portions thereofwith opening parts E while surrounding an area of the sensing electrodein a circular shape having a second radius R2 is depicted at the rightside of FIG. 12b . In this case, the first opening part 700 ispreferably formed such that the relationship between an area surroundedby the first opening part 700 and an area of the dummy pattern 600satisfies πR22:πR12=‘0.9˜1.1’:1.

That is, if the area surrounded by the first opening part 700 is less orgreater than the area of each dummy pattern 600 beyond a predeterminedrange, the regularity by the sensing electrode and dummy pattern 600formed on the transparent substrate 10 is reduced, so that there is alimit to sufficiently improve the visibility of the touch panel. Thus,it is preferable that the first opening part 700 is formed such that theratio of the area surrounded by the first opening part 700 to the areaof each dummy pattern 600 is within the predetermined range.

In addition, a width W1 of the first opening part 700 depicted in FIG.12a and a width W2 of the first opening part 700 depicted in FIG. 5b maybe formed within a preset range, and preferably, may be in the range of20 μm to 50 μm. When the width of the first opening part 700 is lessthan 20 μm, the width of the opening part is excessively smaller thanthe entire width of the sensing electrode, so that the improvement ofvisibility through the formation of the opening part may be lowered.When the width of the first opening part 700 exceeds 50 μm, the ratio ofthe opening part in the sensing electrode is excessively increased, sothat the sensing performance against touch stimulation may bedeteriorated.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a touch panel according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 13, when compared with the touch panel described withreference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the touch panel according to anotherembodiment includes opening parts which are formed in both of the firstand second sensing electrodes 510 and 520. That is, differently from thesecond embodiment in which the first opening part 700 is formed only inthe first sensing electrode 510, the second opening part 800 is formedin the second sensing electrode 520, so that the regularity may beimproved due to the arrangement of the dummy pattern 600 crossing thesensing electrode part. Thus, variation of the light transmittance andrefractive index may be more attenuated.

In detail, referring to FIG. 13, it may be confirmed that six secondopening parts 800 are aligned in a matrix of 2×3 inside the secondsensing electrode 520. It is preferable that the second opening part 800is formed such that the area surrounded by the second opening part 800is 0.9 to 1.1 times of the area of each dummy pattern 600.

In addition, the second opening part 800 may have the same shape, sizeand width as the first opening part 700, but it may be changed accordingto a situation.

Meanwhile, it should be understood that the number and arrangement ofthe second sensing electrodes 520 are not limited to those of FIG. 13and may vary depending on the application or size of the touch panel.

FIGS. 14 to 16 are views showing image display devices to which a touchpanel according to the embodiment may be installed. FIG. 17 is a viewshowing an exemplary configuration of an image display device accordingto the embodiment.

The touch panel according to the embodiment described above may beapplied to various image display devices as shown in FIG. 14. Forexample, the touch panel according to the present disclosure may beapplied to a mobile image display device such as a smart phone, atablet, a PDA, a laptop computer, a digital camera, etc., and inaddition, may be applied to various image display devices such as asmart TV, a PC, a digital frame, a navigation device, etc. That is, thetouch panel according to an embodiment may process touch inputinformation and may be applied to various image display devices fordisplaying image information.

As shown in FIG. 15, the touch panel may include a flexible touch panelbendable. Thus, an image display device including the flexible touchpanel may include a flexible image display device. Therefore, a user maybend the image display device with a hand. The flexible touch panel maybe applied to a wearable touch device.

Referring to FIG. 16, the touch panel may be applied to a vehiclenavigation system as well as an image display device such as a mobileterminal.

Referring to FIG. 17, there are illustrated exemplary elements includedin the image display device to which the touch panel according to theembodiment is installed.

In detail, an image display device, in which a touch panel is installedaccording to the embodiment, includes a communication unit 2 fortransmitting/receiving data, an input information management unit 3 formanaging information input through the touch panel, an image informationmanagement unit 4 for managing information about an image displayedthrough the touch panel, a storage unit 5 for storing variousinformation concerned with an operation of the image display device, anda control unit 6 for controlling operations of the communication unit,the input information management unit and the image informationmanagement unit. In addition, the image display device may includevarious elements as well as the above-described elements.

In addition, each element may be implemented only with hardware orsoftware, or may be implemented by a combination of various hardware andsoftware for performing the same function(s). Further, two elements ormore may be implemented with one piece of hardware or software, or oneelement may be implemented with at least two pieces of hardware orsoftware.

The embodiment provides a touch panel which includes a sensing electrodehaving an improved structure so that the touch panel may maintain touchsensing performance even when the sensing electrode is damaged due tothe external force applied during a manufacturing process and a dailylife.

In addition, the embodiment provides a touch panel which includes asensing electrode having an improved structure so that the visibility ofthe touch panel may be improved.

A touch panel may include: a sensing electrode part including aplurality of first sensing electrodes and a plurality of second sensingelectrodes insulated from the first sensing electrodes and crossing thefirst sensing electrodes; an opening part in the sensing electrode part;and a dummy pattern adjacent to the sensing electrode part.

A touch panel may include: a plurality of first sensing electrodes and aplurality of second sensing electrodes, wherein each of the firstsensing electrodes includes: a main electrode extending in a firstdirection; and a plurality of sub-electrodes extending in a seconddirection from the main electrode and each having at least one openingpart.

The first sensing electrodes and the second sensing electrodes may beformed on a same surface of a single transparent substrate.

The second sensing electrode may be interposed between every twoadjacent sub-electrodes.

The first and second sensing electrodes may include at least one ofindium tin oxide (ITO), carbon nanotube (CNT), indium zinc oxide (IZO),zinc oxide (ZnO), graphene, conductive polymer, silver (Ag) nanowire andcopper oxide.

The touch panel may further include a dummy pattern formed in and spacedapart from each opening part.

The opening part may be provided with a plurality of fine conductivewires may crossing each other to form a mesh shape.

The sub-electrode may include: a first sub-electrode extending in thesecond direction from one side of the opening part; a secondsub-electrode extending in the second direction from an opposite side ofthe opening part; and a third sub-electrode extending in the firstdirection to connect the first and second sub-electrodes to each other.

The dummy patterns may be formed to have a same shape and size.

The touch panel may further include an insulating part disposed in anintersection area between the first sensing electrode and the secondsensing electrode, wherein each of the second sensing electrodesincludes: a plurality of unit electrodes extending in a second directionwhile being spaced apart from each other in an area in which the unitelectrodes cross the main electrode; and a bridge part formed on theinsulating part such that the bridge part is insulated from the firstsensing electrode, the bridge part electrically connecting a pair of theunit electrodes adjacent in the second direction to each other.

A touch panel may include: a substrate; a sensing electrode disposed onthe substrate to sense a touch signal; a dummy pattern disposed outsidethe sensing electrode; and an opening part disposed in the sensingelectrode.

The sensing electrode may include a plurality of first sensingelectrodes extending in the first direction; and a plurality of secondsensing electrodes extending in the second direction while beinginsulated from the first sensing electrodes. Further, the opening partmay be disposed in at least one of the first sensing electrodes or thesecond sensing electrodes.

The opening part may be disposed in the sensing electrode part and opensat least a part of the sensing electrode part to expose a substrate.

The opening part may be configured such that a shape of an areasurrounded by the opening part corresponds to a shape of the dummypattern.

The opening part may be configured such that an area surrounded by theopening part is 0.9 to 1.1 times of an area of the dummy pattern.

The opening part may have a width in a range of 20 μm to 50 μm.

The opening part may include a plurality of sub-patterns spaced apartfrom each other.

An inner area surrounded by the opening part and an outer area may beelectrically connected to each other by an area spaced between thesub-patterns.

The dummy pattern may be formed of the same material as the sensingelectrode.

According to the embodiments, even though the sensing electrode isdamaged by external force applied during a manufacturing process or adaily life, the touch sensing performance may be maintained by improvinga structure of the sensing electrode formed in the touch panel. Sincethe dummy pattern is formed inside the sensing electrode extending in anarbitrary direction (for example, a longitudinal direction, a traversaldirection, diagonal direction, etc.) according to the embodiment, theplurality of electrical connection passages may be provided so that,even when one electrical connection passage is cut off, the touchsensing performance may be maintained through the remaining electricalconnection passage.

In addition, according to the embodiment, since the dummy pattern may beformed by a process equal to a process of forming a sensing electrode,any additional process is not requested so that the producing cost andmanufacturing time of the touch panel may be reduced.

According to the embodiment, the dummy pattern may be formed in thedummy area and the opening part is formed in the sensing electrode, sothat the visibility of the touch panel may be improved.

In addition, when the opening part may be formed in the sensingelectrode, the area surrounded by the opening part is connected to theremaining area, so that the touch sensing performance of the sensingelectrode may be prevented from be deteriorated by the opening part.

Although the embodiment is proposed during a procedure of improving anelectrode pad structure of a touch panel, the embodiment is not limitedto a touch panel itself and may be applied to any image display devicesby those ordinary skilled in the art that the embodiment.

The terms “first”, “second” and the like are used only to distinguishone element to another element, but features such as a sequence betweenelements are not limited to such terms.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A touch panel comprising: a substrate; a sensingelectrode including a plurality of first sensing electrodes on thesubstrate and a plurality of second sensing electrodes insulated fromthe first sensing electrodes and crossing the first sensing electrodesand on the substrate; an insulator provided between the first sensingelectrodes and the second sensing electrodes, wherein each of the firstsensing electrodes includes: a plurality of first unit electrodesextending in a first direction while being spaced apart from each other;and a first connecting part insulated from the second sensing electrodeby the insulator, the first connecting part electrically connecting apair of adjacent first unit electrodes in the first direction to eachother, a plurality of openings in the first sensing electrode, whereinthe first unit electrodes and the first connecting part aremonolithically formed with each other, wherein each of the secondsensing electrodes includes: a plurality of second unit electrodesextending in a second direction while being spaced apart from eachother; and a bridge insulated from the first sensing electrode by theinsulator, the bridge electrically connecting a pair of adjacent unitelectrodes in the second direction to each other, wherein the first unitelectrodes, the second unit electrodes and the first connecting partinclude indium tin oxide (ITO), wherein the bridge, which is a differentmaterial than the first unit electrodes, includes at least one of Cr,Ni, Al, Ag, Mo, Au, Ti and an alloy thereof, wherein the substrate isdefined as having a first area and a second area, wherein the first areais provided inside at least two of the openings, wherein the second areais provided outside the at least two of the openings, wherein firstdummy patterns are disposed in the first area and the first dummypatterns are electrically connected to the sensing electrode, whereinsecond dummy patterns are disposed outside the sensing electrode in thesecond area, and the second dummy patterns are electrically disconnectedfrom the sensing electrode, wherein the at least two of the openingsincludes an arrangement of at least one sub-pattern to separate thefirst area from the second area.
 2. The touch panel of claim 1, whereinthe first sensing electrodes and the second sensing electrodes areformed on a same surface of the substrate.
 3. The touch panel of claim1, wherein the first dummy patterns are provided in the plurality ofopenings, and the first dummy patterns and the openings have a sameshape.
 4. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the at least two of theopenings expose the substrate.
 5. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein ashape of an area surrounded by the at least two of the openingscorrespond to a shape of the first dummy pattern.
 6. The touch panel ofclaim 1, wherein an area surrounded by the at least two of the openingsis 0.9 to 1.1 times of an area of the first dummy pattern.
 7. The touchpanel of claim 1, wherein the first dummy pattern is formed of a samematerial as the sensing electrode.
 8. The touch panel of claim 1,wherein the first area is inside the arrangement of the at least onesub-pattern.
 9. The touch panel of claim 1, wherein the second area isoutside the arrangement of the at least one sub-pattern.
 10. A displaydevice comprising the touch panel according to claim
 1. 11. The displaydevice of claim 10, further comprising: a communication unit fortransmitting/receiving data; an image information management unit formanaging information about an image displayed through the touch panel; astorage unit for storing various information concerned with an operationof the image display device; and a control unit for controllingoperations of the communication unit.
 12. The touch panel of claim 1,wherein a shape of the arrangement of the at least one sub-pattern ispolygon.